Co-incidence Or A Master Stroke?

In this post, I will be deviating from routine and speaking about the political situation existing in India at the moment.

At 11:30 am yesterday, Arvind Keriwal announced that Congress would officially be joining AAP  or the Aam Aadmi Party to form a coalition Government in Delhi. Taking into consideration the fact the the AAP was formed, to quote Arvind Kejriwal,"As as opposition to Congress" and then the shocking declaration made by him yesterday makes me question his intentions. Was it a mere coincidence that just after AAP swiped Congress out of Delhi, Kejriwal joined hands with Congress to be the next Chief Minister for sure and the next Prime Minister perhaps? Or was it actually as the AAP implies via its actions " Due to lack of funds, we cannot survive re-elections if held and thus have come to an agreement with Congress to gain their unconditional support"? The political situation in India has always been highly unstable and prone to issues ever since the death of great leaders like Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi. To sum up, many believe that all of this was Kejriwal's plan from the very beginning to gain Public Support against Congress and join hands with it to be the next CM without any efforts. Some on the other hand believe, Kejriwal did not have a choice but to join hands with Congress because BJP clearly declined its offer of joining hands, to ensure survival. Narendra Modi will do what is right. The miracles he has performed in Gujarat can not be overlooked, the power should be given in his hands because unlike Kejriwal, he is not greedy, he has truly been an 'Aam Aadmi' and will certainly help everyone. These politicians are like ticks, once they get inside, they destroy you from within, they eat you up.The time when words could have resolved the issues is now one, the time has come to take action, take a stand for ourselves.

Is this what India has come to? Women who are worshiped are being exploited? The states are being divided? India is called as "The World's Largest Democracy", I ask, do we have rights? We are free from foreign rule but are we actually free? We call ourselves a Democracy but are we all actually equal? if a person is convicted of a 'rape' he is charged with 7 years of imprisonment, if 2 people of the same gender are caught making love out of free will, they are given life impronment, what kind of hypocrisy is this? We speak about rights but have none, we speak about equality but the disparity between the rich and poor is greater than ever. If lighting a candle would help, there would be no problems in the world. Lighting a candle will not give peace to the souls of the deceased, it will not do justice to the injustice done to them. If you want to truly help Nirbhaya and every single girl who was forced to live through the trauma of sexual abuse, you will have to take a stand, you will have to fight for their rights, for your rights! You cannot just light a candle, mourn for a few days and expect everything to be alright. If you want justice, save a girl from the trauma. If you want to provide peace to their souls, put the criminals to justice and hang them. First the Britishers and now these leaders, I ask what is the difference? Both are equally shrewd and never showed even the tiniest hint of compassion towards the common man. Incomplete and weak is what we Indians are viewed as, they fail to see that we are resilient by force, not by choice. We can and we will rise, that day India will truly rise and no politician will be able to hold us down because their law isn't strong enough to hold 1,2 billion people.

Is This The Beginning Of The End?

This is a collection of a few short, unrelated stanzas written by me, feel free to drop in a review.

For many years, we have utilized our gifts, taken them for granted rather thinking that there would be no repercussions but here we lie, humbled before the face of nature, humiliated, helpless, weak. We have always considered us as the 'Alpha Species', thus making the biggest mistake anyone can ever make, become over-confident and mess up everything. When will we learn that every action has a price, a price our children and grandchildren will have to pay? Will we learn this the day 'trees' become nothing more than objects that once 'used to exist'? Or the day when our grandchildren ask us why didn't we make a change while we could and we have no answer to it except,"Sorry kids, I was busy making money for you guys, money that ya'll never asked for, money that can't buy happiness, money that was made from the paper of the precious trees that we never valued"?

 People with money don't help the poor stand on their own feet, in fact they go all out to take the little bit of land under their feet so that their dominance is always asserted. Is our ego bigger than the problems faced by people who have as much right as us to provide for their next of kin? Is filling our lockers more important than filling a hungry man's stomach? Is making our future more important that brightening another man's present? Are we that selfish that we overlook the needs by saying."It's not my responsibility"? If not ours, then whose is it? The Government that may or may not care? The leaders who might not even know the problems? It is our duty, the job of a common man because we understand their problems better than anyone else. If we do not, who will? When our guilt overcomes our desires, when humanity overpowers greed and like theirs, even our hearts cry, we will not refrain from helping a man in need.

This is it, this is the point where they crumble and we fold, this is the point beyond which we cannot sink further. We have already succumbed to barbarism. The rules written to joins us are now the cause of our separation, the words spoken to ignite the fire of our love have turned our dreams to ashes. The life we lived for each other is the now the life we wish to take of each other. If we were not given the right to love, who gave us the right to hate? If we cannot give a give, why take one? If we cannot save a soul, why torture one? If we cannot be in love why live in hatred either? Why?

And he lost his identity. For once the guy whose smile would change mods, whose words would bring countless smiles, was now a withered flower. The one guy who took people from the life of the defeated to the life of the happiest of the happiest of people is now no more than a mere shadow. Every one who he thought would stick around forever broke him one by one, brick by brick, his heart, trust, his mind, by the end of it,he was out of tears. He got so used to living in pain that it was almost soothing. Those who once made him want to live were the reason he wanted to end it all because he never knew that the smiled he worked so hard to get would someday take his smile away. He knew some people still depended on him for being happy so he never let the world know how broken he truly was, a fake smile on his face, a pretentious attitude to the world and no one to speak to.The one person who could have brought about an actual change to the world was no w lost, his life sucked out of him brutally, all that was left now, was a body without a mind and a small broken heart.

You go on my appearance, you see my silence, you fail to see my past and yet you judge me, call me names and for what? Who gave you the right? What do you do when the whole world is against you, when everyone hates your existence due to a simple misunderstanding? How do you love when the only one you trusted was the one who broke you/ The day this happens to you and you're able to survive it, come meet me. That day we shall talk and I'll give you the right to judge me because you will have walked in my shoes. Until that day and that day may never comes, accept this liberty as a gift.

Ever felt alone, broken, defeated? Why does pain exist? Why does your soul suffer? We ask this whenever we are in pain but fail to see the fact that like us, others feel pain too. Every time you hurt someone who loves you, your heart cries like their, your soul bleeds like theirs did and you know why? It's only fair. The lord who creates divide is the one who makes sure justice persists in the world and we learn the value of happiness rather than throwing it away. While we are busy making plans, karma plays its card and makes sure we reap what we sow and people think twice before hurting anyone.

Impressionable or Incomplete

Impressionable or just incomplete? We often refer to them as two completely different aspects of life when in actuality, both of these go together. We are only impressionable as long as we are incomplete, the day we start feeling complete, nothing can impact us enough to be called 'impressionable'. So let's see what these two actually mean. Impressionable refers to the point or the aspect of our lives when we get impacted majorly by a person or a character or a story, etc. When we let them get to us, when we change ourselves by being 'inspired' or influenced by how they are/were, we are impressionable. Incomplete simply refers to the feeling of having something left out, the feeling that drives us to do anything possible just to be complete, to be whole. When we have a part that is separated from us, we feel incomplete which makes us vulnerable and exposed to the barbarism and brutality of the world.

There can be various reasons for just feeling or actually being incomplete, a broken heart, a broken trust, broken relations, lack of confidence in ourselves as well as others, etc. When feeling incomplete, we become increasingly restless, peace is something that is far off and a calm mind is something that we cannot even imagine. Feeling incomplete isn't exactly wrong, it's more mainstream rather, in fact, everyone feels incomplete at almost every stage of life, every aspect of life. After every challenge one completes, one feels incomplete because of the greed that exists inside of us, the greed to get more, earn more, live more. This greed if controlled, can take us to the heights of success, if not, this same greed can be the cause of our downfall, our misery and suffering. Buddha once said,"The way to achieve Nirvana is by controlling the greed because human wants are unlimited while the means to satisfy them are limited." When the greed overcomes ambition, when the glitter of gold blinds your eyes and when the sound of coins deafens your ears, it's time to stop right there or the ambition that could make you, will break you because when you're feeling incomplete, everything seems right. When a person who is really close to you, almost a part of you, someone who you cannot imagine life without just abruptly leaves, a vacuum is created inside you where you just need to divert your attention from reality because you feel like some kind of cheap trash, that is when you feel incomplete. When this feeling makes you think that every single person you meet may replace replace the person who left, you become highly impressionable, you get intro drugs, alcohol, smoking even, just to be close to one person, peer pressure becomes nothing less than religion to you where you follow everything said. When the pain inside you drives to do everything you never thought you would, go to places you could never even imagine going to and be with people you once never wanted to, you're incomplete.

Once we start feeling incomplete, we seek peace in every part of the world, we start making every successful person our idol and follow their words blind-folded, without taking into consideration that we might just lose ourselves in the process of doing so.Impressionable people often change themselves to a point where they aren't recognizable anymore, they don't have their own identity, they just become a shadow of a person, a body without a soul, a heart without feelings, a mind without peace. It's not wrong to have idols, it's wrong to be a shadow. When incomplete, don't try to find new ways to be complete, look at how you have lived your life because the answer lies in your past, it always has. In the search of peace and being completed, we don't realize how impressionable we have become, how vulnerable we are to every light that we see, we are so much in the dark that we hardly realize that the light may take us to a dead end. The end of a life, is the beginning of a new one, the one of the chapter is the beginning of another, the day we realize that, we won't be incomplete anymore because we won't just stop in life, we will try to move ahead....

I see these barren lands, these broken smiles, these restless souls, life being sucked out of their eyes, their once ever-lit up faces not withered while I stand here, powerless, weak, incomplete. Wherever they go, what ever they do, how much ever the deny it, they will always be incomplete and be stuck at the place where they felt that way for the first time. In the endeavor of being complete or happy or at peace they end up losing everything they have and often lose the tiniest hope of being complete. This is where it has to stop, we have already succumbed to barbarism, how much lower can we sink? This is where it all ends, this is where we fold and they crumble because if this doesn't end now, all will. 

Why..

"Why?" we often ask ourselves this question. Why am I not like him/her? Why am I not smart? Why does this only happen to me? Why is life so unfair? Why can't I be a hero, be something to someone? These questions often kill our self-esteem and put our morale in a black-hole where everything goes to die. We change ourselves again and again and again only to please people. Why? To be accepted? To be liked? To be noticed? We change ourselves to give ourselves the feeling that we do belong to some people, that we are not alone. Is that right though? We change ourselves to what others want us to be but fail to realize that by changing ourselves once, we get prone to constantly changing and before we know it, we start burning in the pain, the agony of our desires and dreams that once used to exist! Changing is good, losing your identity is not.

Why do we close our eyes when we pray,cry or dream? It's because we know that the most beautiful things in life are not seen, but felt by our heart. Why so we fall? So we can learn to stand up again. Why do we feel sad? So we can know when we are happy and value it! Why do we face dark times? So we know the value of light. The little things we have but don't value, matter to us only when they are gone. Why? Because things in today's world are only cared for when they are lost.

We often ask ourselves that why does pain exist? When we say this, we are clearly overlooking the fact that without the existence of pain in our lives, we would never know the true value of happiness. Why can't one always get what he wants, why is it that everyone has to face some problem in his life? Why? Is it because no one ever values what they have until it's gone and becomes 'had' from 'have', or is it because we need to learn what it is like to be low and depressed so that we value those brief moments of happiness we manage to get?

Why does one find refuge in company of those not his age? Why does one refrain so much from being around people his age? That's what people ask a close friend of mine, he tells them this,"You made me an outcast for not changing myself, I went to those who not only accept me, but also love me for who I am and now you have a problem with that? Why? Just because I learnt to be happy without you and your group of the 'cool' people? Is that it? Or is it because you now regret not giving me a chance and being too judgmental." When we judge people and hope that they don't judge us, we are being insane because kindness in this world is far too rare to expect it from anyone, even yourself.

"A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer." - Ralph Waldo Emerson. I couldn't agree more. Everyone has a hero within them, just lack the courage to show their true abilities. Everyone cannot be a superhero, but can be a hero for their loved ones by doing one act of random kindness.

'Why?' This question is really powerful and highly important in forming the base of a successful life, we can question every aspect of our life, every action that we take and every reaction that we have. Why do we value people more than they deserve? Why do we give-in too much and get nothing in return? Why? It's because we care, sometimes way more than we should. We compare ourselves to people and try to be like them so we can feel like we are a part of something, that we matter and in this process, we ignore the people that we matter to because they don't matter to us. We do not think about the troubles the other person might have faced to become what he is today, we only see the victories, not the defeats. We feel life is unfair to us when we get bad marks or are hated by people but we tend to forget about the people who struggle to live every minute of the day, the innocent people who are shot down in riots for a crime they didn't commit, life is unfair to them, to us, life is bestowing its blessings, we just don't see it sometimes.

 A great poet once said "We are all in the same game, just different levels. We are all in the same hell, just face different devils". These are words to live by. We are all hypocrites wearing the mask of innocent kids, when the mask is taken away, the world will see our true colors. We cut trees to make paper out of them to write "Save trees", we kill people who kill other people to tell them that it's wrong to kill people and why, why do we do that? We do it to assert our dominance over the weak and feel powerful, rather than helping those who are weak and standing up to those who are stronger than us. Just because we were bullied once, we bully the weak so that this chain doesn't end, so that we take pride in being despised by someone weaker just like the bullies we despised. We try to bully those weaker than us because we know we are too weak to stand up to those who bully us.

If answered correctly, this question can guide us to a bright and happy future, if answered wrong, it can ruin our life. It's easy to choose among wrong and right, it's difficult to choose between two wrongs or two rights.

Society...

Often in life we overlook the facts that we consider little but still manage to affect our lives greatly. As children, infants in fact, we were made to believe in a force that is the 'Higher Calling', or god. We were not given a choice, nor were we asked our views, we were just conditioned to believe in god, it was an imposition of the beliefs of the elders of the family on us. The 'society' that we live in, a so called 'group of helpful people', managed to change the way we think and drove us to believe into not what's right, but into what they feel is right. I often think that society is just an elaborate conspiracy made by the kings of olden times to ensure that people stay pressed and there is no sign of equality whatsoever. 

In our teen years, we think about and give way more importance to society than we should. Rather than forming our own identity, we try to blend in with what is 'cool' just so that we do not become a social outcast. We hide our talents, with the fear of being made fun of or bullied and losing the talent in the process. We make sure we look contended with life and happy on the outside, but die inside for the petty reason that we do not have faith in ourselves. We always have major insecurities about everything, from what we wear all the way to how we speak and think, just by the fear of being different, insecurities have never done anyone any good and never will because insecurities make us hide the talent that is bestowed upon us. Society affects us greatly without even us knowing it. We stop talking to amazing people just because society doesn't approve. We start hating people just for our friends so that our 'friends' don't hate us too. We fear being lonely in a society when we already feel alone even in a crowd. We fear not being accepted by others when we don't even accept ourselves. If we were meant to be like another person, then we wouldn't have different characteristics, if we were meant to follow someone, we would be a shadow, if we were meant to be accepted by everyone, we wouldn't be so lonely. I am not saying that society is bad and we shouldn't make a few tweaks in ourselves, all I'm saying is, the tweaks shouldn't change who we actually are. Insecurities and self-doubt are the major cause for the existence of bullies who make our insecurities worse to an unimaginable extent, which in turn turns our confidence into bit and pieces. Choosing the correct company is very important for teens because we all try to modify ourselves as to the wishes of others. We need to ask ourselves, how many of these friends will actually help us in time of need? How many of them will be with us forever? Are any of them worth modifying our behavior for? The answer is, no, simply because none of them will be there in the future. We making them a priority doesn't make us a priority for them, that is a big difference. We may change ourselves when they ask us to, but they definitely won't if we ask them. When school or college ends, they will all be lost in the crowd, what about us? We need to have a separate identity, shine on our own so we aren't hidden in someone's shadow. I strongly believe,"It's not bad to make friends, it's bad to make friends who pretend to provide us shade, but in actuality just want to cover us under their shadow, so our abilities are suppressed."Choose your friends widely, they determine your status, not your identity. 


Unfortunately, we live in a society where misunderstandings are the root cause of broken friendships and relations and no one even wants to clear the misunderstandings. Once, they decide that a person is at fault, nothing can change that. I can't tell you how many friends I've lost thanks to misunderstandings but on the other hand, I'm glad that those people left because if they trust strangers more than me, if they are that judgmental, then it's better they left... I still feel sad about what could have become of our friendship that got shattered before our journey even started, the fact that those people actually mattered. The sad thing is that, people don't want things cleared out, their ego and judgmental nature doesn't allow them to, maybe that's why my regret is trusting them and not losing them.. 

 “You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.” - Winston Churchill. I couldn't agree more. You should always be open to criticism but not so much that the criticism leads to self-doubt. If you sit and react to everyone who makes a comment upon you, you will never reach your destination, you'll be lost on the path itself.

One act of random kindness creates a ripple, if we try being the light for someone in their dark times or atleast lend them a hand, without expecting anything in return, we don't lose anything. I believe,"One should always play life like a gamble where you have nothing to lose,  if you win it's great, if you don't it doesn't harm you either, that way you can never truly lose." If we help others, we might get helped too someday. If one person takes the initiative, he can make a difference, a big one if he is truly determined.

You know it's time to make new friends and find new company when your friends and society start influencing your identity. When the endeavor of 'fitting in' changes you and makes you bend your Morales, ethics, values and limits, when peer pressure overcomes it all and the life you live has merely your breaths but is lived by how others want it lived, you know you are wrong, not wrong because the society wanted you to change, but wrong because you did actually change. If a few issues can change your perspective on life, then you need to change the way you react to even the tiniest of details and problems.

Society is meant to be helpful but the mere fact that some people like to show their power upon the weaker is what shakes my belief in the word 'equality'. It makes me wonder about being like the Shield of Achilles, fight so I don't have to fight again. The moment the weak get out of control, not only their talents, but also their life go down a black hole and never come back. It's true that society was is supposed to help us, but it's also true that unless we find ourselves being help-worthy, no one can do anything. 

Disappointment

When you plan everything from the tiniest to the largest details and it all falls apart, the feeling that you get is disappointment. When you plan for a party that you end up not getting invited to, you get disappointed. When you have way too many expectations from people and don't stand up to it, you feel disappointed. You also feel disappointed when you plan to do various things with people, grow old together and they just end up leaving you,when you hope to get full in an exam and end up with scrap, when your heart breaks, when you fail, when you fall, when you're bullied, you get disappointed almost on a regular basis. It gets you down, makes you sad, makes you doubt your actions and self-worth, but you can't go by what you feel at that point of time because Disappointment is false, it deceives.

A male human gets disappointed at all stages of his life, when he is denied candy as a boy, when is not given a new cell phone as a teenager, when he doesn't get freedom as an adult, but he gets the most disappointed as a man when he can't make his family happy and as a father when his morals and values are walked-on by his own children. A female too gets disappointed at every stage of life, as a kid when her Barbie breaks, as a teenager when she isn't allowed to wear make-up, as an adult when she has nothing to wear for a party, but she gets the most disappointed as a women when she feels she isn't doing enough for her family. She gets disappointed as a mother when her children go out of control, but she feels completely shattered when her trust is broken by her family and that shakes her faith in the whole idea of 'trust'. 

When life gives you lemons, make Nimbu Paani out of it. When you get disappointed, get back on your feet, chin up, look straight, big smile and get ready to fall again and again and keep repeating it. Risk everything and don't give up hope even you lose.

Nothing is worth putting yourself down and doubting your action. Nobody is perfect, nobody can always win, no body can always loose either. Everything is temporary, down today, up tomorrow, disappointed today, satisfied tomorrow. 

Disappointments come in various forms, come in every stage of life, the only solution is to stay positive and move on. I believe,"Problems are only as big as you want them to be, so are joys."
If you're negative, even the smallest of a problem because a huge boulder in your life, same way, if you're positive, even the biggest problem is nothing less than a tiny rock. Your perception is what matters. Disappointments may be big but you can reduce the pain by moving on. Moving on does not mean 'not caring at all', it means to care enough to not bring you down.

People often say,"The lesser you expect, the lesser disappointments you face." It's true but it's not a value one would base their life upon. The lesser you expect, the lesser you achieve. If you expect full, you work towards it and come close enough to it. if you aim to just pass, you fail for sure. Failure disappoints, trying and failing doesn't. 

Happiness..

What is it? Getting new and shiny things? Falling in love? No! Happiness is what you feel when you make someone smile. When your friend smiles and says 'You are an idiot'. When your friend can afford only 1 chocolate and still gives you half. Happiness is not in big and expensive things,but in the little things. So live life and spread a smile....

When your heart is happy, there is a smile on your face. When there's a smile on your face but pain in your heart, it's fake. Faking smiles or happiness is meaningless, pointless. Everyone has issues, everyone gets sad, but that doesn't mean you give up hope on humanity and stop smiling, stop being happy, stop living! No! "Good or bad, the time does change.."

You feel happy when you start enjoying the little things. When you smile over a song that randomly starts playing on your phone and you realize how beautiful life is, when a simple text message makes you feel loved, when you manage to give someone a smile who is crying, when you achieve something and make people known to you proud, when you overcome fears... Happiness isn't only about having a smile on your face 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year, happiness is about smiling once a day and meaning it. When you enjoy the little things, the big things make you happy too by default.

You can't try to be happy, trying is just a waste. Happiness can only come from within, otherwise It's just a failed attempt to show something that you aren't to people you don't like. Fake smile all you like but sooner or later, there will be a person who catches your lie because he/she too has been through the same. You aren't alone in anything in this world, you just have to reach out and grab your share of happiness at times. That means, you need to face the people ruining your life, stand up to the bullies and grab what is rightfully yours!

You know you are truly happy only when you see the person in the mirror and manage to look him/her directly in the eye even though you have regrets... When you see pride in seeing yourself and not shame, you are happy. When you look at yourself without pity, you know you have moved on.

Letting go is the first true step to happiness...

The past, no matter how it was, it's gone and you can't do anything about it except let go...
The past makes you unhappy, gives you nightmares because the people in it broke you. By being sad, you let them win. The day you let go of everything, you become happy and start smiling. You stop burning in the fire of your pain, anger, jealousy and hatred..Today, everywhere I go, I find people crying over the past,planning for the future and criticizing today! It amuses me to know that these clueless people don't have any idea how wrong they are! The past is called-so for a reason. You can either learn from it and make a better future or cry over it and ruin the bleak chances of a happy life! The future is not in your control, sure you can try and improve it but you cannot completely neglect the present for it! That's like sitting for lunch while missing what you had for breakfast, thinking about dinner and not eating what is right in front of you, i.e sheer stupidity!

"If people make you sad, you should always remember, it's people who also make you smile. You just have to chose the correct ones..."

Mumbai, my home...

Mumbai-

I am just an ordinary boy in the extraordinary city of Mumbai. Being born and brought up here, I have seen and accustomed myself to the ways of life here. I am used to the dust, the corruption  the fights, the jokes, the love that this city has given me...

 This city is 'EXTREME', swinging between the two points of an endlessly working pendulum which has no stop in the middle.Maybe that's why every Mumbaikar is proud to call themselves a Mumbaikar. Even when they aren't in Mumbai, if  someone speaks about this city, their face lightens up and memories come back... 'The City Of Dreams', that's what outsiders call Mumbai and they have all the right reasons to call it so because this city has fulfilled millions of dreams of people. In Mumbai Life changes in a blink of an eye. 

 This city has EVERYTHING! One moment you are blissfully basking in the Grandeur of your childhood and the next, It's all gone. Leaving you empty but for the memories. One moment you are with the mates of your school shouting loudly over a Football game and the next, cursing over a stock market crash. In the monsoons, the city manages to get even more mesmerizing. Sitting at home with friends and family, having a nice laugh while having hot and fresh Pakodas and enjoying the heavy rain outside is the dream that I live. The rains bring around gloomy days, but are a huge relief after the hot Summer! Here, the rains are a sign of happiness for everyone and are welcomed with open arms and huge smiles. Getting drenched in the first heavy downpour while walking home with friends, having hot Samosa's while getting wet in the rain, etc. are a few scenes that create memories worth cherishing. Screaming way too loudly with your head outside your car in the rains is one thing that no one can hate, if they do, the hate fun. 

In the 16 years of my life, I've lived all of them in Mumbai, but still never managed to explore it entirely. In the fast life of this city, NO ONE has the time to stop, sit in one place and talk to friends or even neighbors, but the beauty of the people here is that no matter how busy they are, if you are in need they will come to help you. No matter in how much of a hurry they are, they will stop and let you cross the road first. Thousands of people migrate every single day to this city in hope of achieving something, being something, meeting someone, meeting the 'Stars', having a future, me? I just come here to breath the air, smile and be able to say " I'm home". 

Fights, anger,  joy, love, hatred, jokes, breakups, patchups, etc. are  all weaved into the lives of every Mumbaikar, even mine. Maybe that's why I love it here, maybe that's why, whenever I go somewhere, I miss Mumbai because even amidst all this havoc and fast life of Mumbai, I managed to find my peace. People call it 'The City Of Dreams', I call it 'Home'... Life never slows down here, so if you want to be a Mumbaikar, you need to learn how to move on... 

Because everyone has a friend like this luckily...

Today, I was asked to write something about my best friend..
So who is a 'best friend'? There are many people with more than 1 best friend and luckily, I'm one of them and fortunately, all my best friends are nuts. A best friend is a person who can make you smile in the darkest of times, can hug you for hours just to make you feel better, scolds you like a parent when you are sick and tortures you like an enemy on a daily basis, yet you manage to love them. A best friend isn't a person to whom you speak regularly, but even when you speak to them after a really long time, it's as if you never stopped. Someone who picks you up when you're down but also gets you back to the ground when you're busy celebrating your little victories. They are happier than you in your joy and sadder than you in your misery. They may be totally opposite of you, but still you love them more than anyone similar to you. I too have best friends who are exactly like that, scold me, torture me, irritate the crap out of me, yet, I love them. We fight a lot, but does that mean we aren't meant to be friends? I believe that "It doesn't matter how many times you fight, or how long you've known each other. What matters, is the fact that even in a short period you've come close and overcame every fight which was a hurdle in your way of happiness..." 

You meet a random person through a mutual friend and instantly connect. You like the same things as them, laugh as they do on the same stupid crazy jokes that your mutual friend considers stupid. Before you even know it, you find a better friend in the stranger than in your mutual friend. It's not wrong to get closer to a stranger than your friend but you should remember to not exclude the mutual friend entirely. Suprisingly enough, all my closet friends are known to be via some mutual friend who excluded herself from us. I don't have regrets because once who were strangers are now my best friends. yes we all have issues, but we accept each other with them, that's what best friends are for, aren't they? Maybe that's why we are close. We are considered crazy but that's how we are. Crazy and happy!

When  you walk your own paths and somehow cross paths with someone who walks with you and makes your rough journey easier by holding your hand in the dark by saying,"I'm scared", even though they know you are scared and they aren't. 

A best friend isn't only a person who you can trust, but also the one person who overlooks all your faults and mistakes and give you another chance even if you don't deserve it because they see the potential in you to change and evolve.

The best part about having a best friend is that you are absolutely sure that never will never break your trust no matter what. Even a million fights can't shake the bond that you share with them. If, however the bond is broken by a tiny nudge, it's for you to understand that the person whom you consider your best friend, was never worth your time. I could talk about how this happens with everyone and even as teens their trust is shattered by people who didn't deserve to be trusted in the first place and how they blame themselves for it even though they are the victims not the evil-doers. An attack on the chest by a sworn enemy is much less painful than a betrayal by your best friend.

In 'The Man Of Steel', a character said,"Sometimes, you need to take the leap of faith first. The trust comes later" and I couldn't agree more. Sometimes you just have to take a risk. A best friend is a person who comes along as a stranger but renews your faith in trust and life, accepts your past and helps you make your present beautiful and future amazing! You too need to do your part by taking that leap of faith and being completely honest with the stranger who calls you their best friend. If the leap is successful, you know you have a person who'll be there forever, if it's not, you just need to wait for the person to come along who will be there forever, no matter what.
You have nothing to lose in the leap. If it's a success, You find a companion, If it fails, the person goes to back to being a stranger.

 The thing about people is that they always need new things to gossip about so if your 'SECRET' is revealed, don't feel ashamed, it will be gone from the minds of everyone even before you know it. At the max, they'll laugh for a week,10 days, a month? Then? They'll get over it and so will you, all you need to do is, just go along... Going along this massacre is much easier when you have a best friend who says ' Chill bro, we'll pick on each of them later.. ' If someone makes you smile even when everyone else is laughing at you, they are your best friend. I read somewhere that," A best friend isn't a person who is only with you when you're sad, but they are also truly happy for you in your victory, even if they failed.."

Smart, stingy, lame, crazy, adorable, irritating, idiotic, amazing! These are the qualities your best friend must have. 

Sometimes, things happen which are beyond your control. When you think you have your life sorted and figured out, destiny plays its card....We were alone before we met but destiny had something else in mind. We met, we spoke, we laughed, we cried, we fought, we parted to never meet again.
Walking on our own paths, we bumped into each other again, caught up on the old days, realized the stupidity and apologized. It's been a long time since that accidental meeting and we fight almost every day ever since but still I love her the most. I know if I let her go again, we will both be alone and as I promised, I won't let her be alone. No matter how much we want to kill each other, even as a stranger or enemy, I will be by her side. Always. Maybe that's why we are best friends. Maybe that's why we can't stay without each other, maybe that's why even out fights are full of love, maybe that's why we met again. Destiny is something I will forever be grateful to because if it weren't for destiny, I would've never been able to sum up the courage to apologize and tell her how much she means to me..

Hope is what matters...

No matter what you do or where you go,life will knock you down! People will feast on your defeat! They will laugh at your fall and be intimidated by your victory, they will be jealous and angry and will drive you to a point in life where you have to doubt yourself. You cannot give in to them, you cannot let them win. Life doesn't only knock you down in form of problems, but also in form of people who are bullies who spit on your self-esteem and treat you as slaves. You can easily get up and fight back or die a slave. It's up to you to get up, fight back and win or die trying, or stay down and die a loser. Getting bad marks or having family/relationship issues is one of the ways in which life knocks you down. You can get back up, study and get good marks or die a failure without trying. You could re-evaluate your part in the issues and take the initiative to sort them out or let them end. It is all up to you, all you have to do is not give up hope.. Feeling low is natural, it's what you do when you feel low that matters. 

Sometimes we lose ourselves due to the external factors like fights and despair and loss. Maybe that's why hope is so rare in the world that when you stay positive, people ask you "What are you made up of? How do you keep hope? How does it feel to have dreams?"  It's not about how many times you fall and loose faith and hope in everything, it's how many of those times you have the courage to get back up and hope again, trust again, live again.. Being broken isn't wrong, not letting people fix you is the problem. 

Jackie Chan once said 'Life knocks you down, you can choose weather or not to get up....'

Life is the cruel reality to fairy tales and good dreams. There are ups and downs,there always will be but if you don't lose hope, even in the darkest times you will see a light. Life is not tough nor is it a game! Life comes without rules or a save button (unfortunately :P), you cannot undo what's done, you can make it better. You can rectify mistakes, not erase them. The Chinese 'Ying-Yang' gives the same message in a different way.."In every good there is evil and in every evil there is good, the balance of life is maintained by having both 'good' as well as 'evil' equally because they both do merge into one another,that's the inner circle of life...." Without ups and downs in life, you just exist, don't live. There is a difference between existing and LIVING!

"If your life goes according to plan, you're living it wrong."

'It will happen, don't give up hope', these seven words are what I have based my life upon. Bad marks, admissions, being unable to learn something, are all problems that can be solved by following these seven words. 

Being alone isn't always bad..

Sometimes it's good to be away from people, sometimes it's good to be alone because being alone saves you from the pains of the outside world where there is no humanity...being alone does not mean you are a loner or a nobody, it just means that the right people for you haven't come along yet and you don't deserve any less. Being alone gives you peace and a chance to shine alone. I prefer staying alone and being called a 'loner' rather than being with people I hate just for the sake of being 'Social'.

I chose my way of life. I fought for myself and parted with my so called 'friends' and no matter what others say, I don't regret one bit of it. All the people I know go out every day for lunch or movies or just to hang out, despite the fact that I am never invited (I wouldn't go even if I was), I manage to stay happy...

I was told that I get involved to much, get too close, give in too much, love too much, care too much and that, to quote the person, 'is terribly annoying!' I give too much because my parents taught me, "The more you give, the more you'll get", that isn't the case here. Maybe that's why people quit on me, leave and never come back. Little do they know, I don't care. If you try to change me, you ain't meant to be in my life, feel free to leave.

People often tease me and call me a 'loner' and label me as a 'sad soul', in exchange, I question them "I am not social and you are, I am happy, are you?" This usually ends the conversation and they walk away in shame. I know I'm right which is why I will keep fighting against every one who labels me in any way! 

Sure, there are times when I wish even I had someone to go out with or a huge friend circle and all that but I know that the few people I have will always be there for me, I can rely on them at even 2 a.m for help.Having lots of friends doesn't matter. How many of them will stand by your side no matter what in time of need? That is what matters. Ideally I'd rather have 10 friends who'll always stand by my side,rather than a 1000 friends who'll leave me in time of need....

Yes, there are times when I feel completely alone and lost,feel alone even in the most crowded areas because I have had ups and downs in life, lost loads of people on the way and gained a few but that doesn't make my life any less livable..
Yes I don't have crores of rupees in my bank,Yes I don't carry around thousands of rupees to waste or a phone worth 50-60,000. Yes I haven't had a hundred affairs and a thousand flings.  Yes I am sort of 'alone', yes I don't go out with friends much, yes I love books much more than people, yes I love the company of my dog more than any human company, but no I am not a 'loner' or 'unhappy' in any way because I am me, I don't try to be someone I'm not. I am not fake! I am the happiest anyone can ever be
I am not like all the 'cool' people. I am not a genius. I do get jealous when people get good marks, hot girlfriends, etc. I do wish that I too had a life like that. I always re-check whatever I post in my blog or on my FaceBook or on Instagram, for what? I am not sure about what I do. I make a million mistakes. It took me guts to even post this post! I may have written it a million times and deleted it without saving. I am not confident. I am insecure! I am half-minded about turning an anonymous blogger again. I don't want to reveal what I am good at because I know people hate me and they will put me down! Wherever I go, in whichever field, there are people way better at it than me and that discourages me. I have been crashed and burned by life! Every time I have a crush, I don't tell her. Why? Because I know she will hate me. I am not like everyone! There are days when I feel like just quitting everything and running away. But I can't because the adrenaline rush is for a few minutes or seconds and impulsive decisions are always a pain. I do make mistakes, I am not an 'idol' for anyone, I am not perfect, I am far from it. I maybe a lot of things, but I am not weak, I am not a person who can pushed around and if someone has a problem, they are welcome to leave.

I have been bullied, I am a mess! I will be. I don't ask for sympathy, I ask for equal status. I don't ask for pride, I ask for respect and I demand it! No one can deny me that. I have molded myself according to this world and gone in a shell. But i am coming out. For how long can they keep me down? Huh? There will be a day when they will be tired of putting me down, there will be a day when the people who despise me will regret it, there will be a day when their insults will be lost in roar of compliments and claps. There will be a day when I will get the respect I deserve. They put me down because I'm weak, I come up because I know they can't get stronger. I have come out of my shell, they do see my growing wrath, they fear it. I still think about what I post, but then again if someone has a problem with me, it's their problem. I will not go anonymous, I will not give up, I will not succumb. I will fight. I may not be the best writer, but I am good at it! Everyone who ever thought of me as a 'loser' will repent. For I, am like a spring, the harder you put down, the higher is my jump!

I'd rather be alone that with a group of people who try to change the person I am and make me go against my principles.

I stopped caring about what others say because I know, if its a compliment or an insult, it's fake. Neither triumph nor failure last forever, they are both traitors. I will not give in, I will not stop fighting. I will stand up to them one day and say,"I win.". I live the life I always wanted, happy, calm, peaceful and unlike most 'social' people, I don't wake up every morning with regrets, look at myself in the mirror, disgusted..

For every end,there is a new beginning, for every death there is life and for every evil there is good...only if you don't loose faith in what is right. Succumbing to the bad doesn't only make you weaker, but also destroys every inch of hope of overcoming the evil, which is otherwise there...

Never start what you can't end because someone else will end it and you will not like the way it ends......

There is no tomorrow, there is no future, there is only today, here and now...

Life is not what you plan. Life is what happens when you're busy making plans. Living in the moment makes your life worth living, merely making plans doesn't. I see people talking about what they PLAN  to do when they are 50 or 60 years old and I wonder, 'How do they know they will live that long?'. I live in the moment, in fact I live every moment but am I wrong in doing so and all these planners right? Could it be that life is only about making plans for the future and ruining the present, could it?....

You should always live in today because when you're on your death bed you need to ask yourself  "Was my life worth living?" and if the answer is 'Yes', you know you lived your life to the fullest. When the end comes, it won't matter how many years you survived, but how many of those years you truly lived. 

"Was my life worth it?", keeping these five words in mind, you need to do whatever you can to not have any regrets. So when you face the creator, you can proudly say,"I made my life worth living" with a huge smile.

Pain..

What is pain? Is it a feeling or is it merely the absence of happiness  What does pain mean? In our lives,we often talk about how we are in pain,etc. But are we in pain? Pain is what a kid feels after falling down. That is physical pain,it hurts a bit but gets cured and if very deep,leaves a scar. Pain is also what a kid feels when his favorite toy breaks. That is emotional pain,hurts a lot. When our heart breaks or our trust is shattered,the helplessness,the hurt,the sadness and the anger that we feel is Pain in the true sense. Pain can be completely or largely reduced if one person catches your hand and says,"It's okay,chill! Happens. I'm here for you" having someone care for you and be by your side always reduces pain. 

Forgive and Forget- 
Small words with a huge meaning and impact. These words not only determine ones relations with people,but also how he is treated by people. Life is too short to waste it on hatred. Smile people! Smile and spread the smile,it will make the place a better world to live it. Ideally, I would prefer to die in a content world than in a world full of regret and sorrow because I wouldn't have any regrets...neither should you. No matter what a person has done to you, no matter how stone hearted you try to be, when you ask for forgiveness and you get it, you're free from the prison of your hate, your regret.....

Happy as a shadow..

When I see you,
I notice you everyday but from far away. I know that you do not know about my existence but is that supposed to lessen my love for you? I see you smile and that makes my day. I see you with your boyfriend, but I just see your smile and think 'If she is happy,why shouldn't I be?". I am not a stalker, but a secret admirer. Your name shall forever be in my prayers because you will always be in my heart. I am just a shadow of a man hoping to be seen by you someday.....

How much do I love you? All I can say is, i'd happily be your enemy for life if it meant you being happier than being with me. I'd rather live with your hatred then see you unhappy,with me. Every time you cry,I die a little inside. I can kill for your smile and because of your tears. Your hatred for me can't change my love for you. Even as the most hated person in your life,i'll always have your back. Maybe that is the problem. Maybe the problem is that I want your smile and can do anything for it because I do love you and always will....I am not perfect, I am far from it, I make mistakes, I am a complete mess-up and so are you. Maybe, just maybe that is the reason I fell for you, the reason why I miss you so much, the reason why every morning I get up and wish I have you by my side, maybe that's why I wish it could all come back, maybe that's why whenever we were together I only wished the time could stop, maybe, just maybe that's why I need you....

You are gone now and all I have to live by are memories,our memories. I remember you holding me tight when sad. I remember you wiping your tears just because you knew I'd cry with you and that you couldnt see. I remember you holding me tight and hugging me for hours that never ended just so you knew I was only yours. I remember you hitting me for not taking care of myself and then getting angry. I remember the smile on your face after you hugged me,after you saw me. I remember....that's all I have to live by for you are gone,but our memories live on..:(

Morals and values are what I have based my life on ever since I came to know the meaning of these words! No matter what, I stuck by my rules, my morals and never, NEVER bent them for anything or anyone, except you! You came along and I thought "It's worth breaking my rules for her,worth every bit!", but you're gone now and once again I am back to being the man with Rules and Morals but this time, no one can make me bend those rules, not even you..

There are days when I look back, when I think about picking up my phone and calling you, when I wish things didn't end between us the way they did. There are times when I want to answer to the people who ask me,"Who was she?" but I can't because a part of me will always wish that we didn't end, that we would still be as happy as we were. I know that I have moved on, so have you, but a part of me will always be stuck there and wish that deep inside, you have a part like that in you too.

I am not responsible for this state of yours! I took your sins upon me to keep you safe! I prayed to lord that I get your share of pain, misery and ill-health and you get my share of happiness! I gave you more than I could, always. But now, I give up hope. You ridicule me for being the cause of your misery and neglect your bad choices. I was there for you when you were a 'nobody', I was there for you through thick and thin, through ups and downs, I was there for you when you treated me like old garbage in your new found fame, but, not anymore. I give up! If you ever noticed what you meant to me, you'll feel an empty space inside when I won't be there. I'm done.